Letter to AOS

[Rhonda_in_FL]

Hello all!

I wanted to take a moment and revitalize this very important thread.

With resounding enthusiasm, the AOS has been listening to younger members across this board and through the network of societies. The president has restructured the organization's committees and education is a top priority. Believe it or not, the link to this thread has been hopping around the AOS loop and it was sent to me the other day. Of course, I thought it was sort of funny since I have a post on the thread shortly after it was up in the spring.

Ironically orchid friends, Carlos has asked me to be the new chairperson of the Education Committee. Who knew? It is a huge responsibility that, as I continue to think about the possibilities, becomes more exciting with the weeks.

Where are we right now? Gathering information from everywhere and anywhere. There are so many things on this thread that I've written down, but to give you an idea of what is going on I wanted to give you an update from the committee's point of view:

First, we've divided the scope of education into age levels. The AOS does not have an educational curriculum for children. Each member of the committee has volunteered to 'point' a different age level (K-2, 3-5, 6-9, high school, and adult ed.)

Second, network and collaborate with societies across the country to find out how they are promoting education. We're very interested in what is working with kids, with local botanical gardens, with societies.

Third, highlight young orchid growers and their passion for growing. Look at the AOS website and you'll see our first installment of that highlight--and more will follow on the website and in the magazine. As I reread this thread, it occured to me that 'young' is a relative term. We should also highlight young adults as well--what was I thinking? I know I'm on the young end of my society's age range at 42. The demographic for orchid growers has certainly changed over the past 50 years--we need to keep that in mind when organizing magazine articles, etc.

Like I said, there are a million things that could be done. The committee is listening--what would you do if you were in my position?? That is a genuine invitation. Feel free to either post your ideas here or PM me on the forum.

Thanks again for getting the conversation moving. I want to know what you (and/or your society) are doing to support education. What can we do?

Rhonda Heide, Chairperson
AOS Education Committee

[tuvoc]

Thanks for reopening this thread, Rhonda, and congrats on your new appointment. As I mentioned earlier, I've been an AOS member for a very long time, and feel I owe them much for keeping my orchid enthusiasm growing. There has been some good outreach from them here lately, and I only hope this continues, and grows, as we all are in this together, and dialog can spread the good word better than anything else I can think of.

Kim

[cb977]

Great stuff, Rhonda!

It's very nice to have a broader AOS presence here on Orchidboard

With the knowledgeable members here and the newer welcoming feel we're getting form the AOS, I think this is a wonderful opportunity for the orchid-growing community

I'm sure you'll be getting lots of ideas, Rhonda...get ready

[bswanson]

This is great Rhonda! Thank you for your work and your committee's work in education.

I think the orchid community is going to benefit greatly from our new focus at the AOS.

[epiphyte78]

Rhonda, Congratulations on your appointment of education chairperson for the AOS. If I were in your position I'd e-mail all the societies and make contact with the education chairperson of each society. My guess is that there are only a small handful. None of my three orchid societies has an education chairperson. So in your e-mail you'll probably need to make a case for the creation of an education chairperson position.

Hmmm...does the AOS have a publicity chairperson? If so, it would be helpful if they could send out a similar e-mail.

Relying on one presentation a month to educate members isn't sufficient. Orchid articles should be a societies' primary source of educational material. Just encouraging members to check out various orchid magazines from the societies' library isn't enough either. Each local orchid societies' education chairperson should select and disseminate orchid articles during meetings. They can also devise ways to check if members actually read the articles and reward those that do.

Ideally, pdf documents of articles from back issues would be available to download from the AOS website. It's completely absurd for the AOS website to only have one measly paragraph on growing orchids outdoors when in their March 1987 issue of Orchids is an excellent article on growing orchids outdoors. It probably took more time to write that paragraph than it would to scan the article and upload it to the AOS website.

Each LOS's education chairperson should be able to visit the AOS website and select from a long list of articles to download. Once they have selected and downloaded an article they should be able to print it out and make copies to disseminate at upcoming meetings. If an article that they want to download isn't available, then they should be able to e-mail you to request that it be digitized and included in the list.

Your appointment is quite timely because in the publicity report I recently compiled for my orchid society I included a section on education. In that section I referred to our non-existent "Chair of Education" in the hopes that my society would take the hint and create such a position. Hopefully your e-mail to all societies will drive the point home.

Best of success in your new position. Hopefully the AOS will invest more time and effort in education rather than on other activities that only benefit a very small percentage of local orchid society members.

[MuscleGirl'sHobby]

I'm a bit late jumping in here... and admittedly did not read the whole 11 pages!

However, I did want to put in my First off, great article/blog blondie! I could have written it myself it hit that close to home.

I 'm 28 and have been a gardener since I was a child. It is a skill that was passed on from my Mother who alway grew a lot of what we ate and had a load of houseplants. She did not however, ever have an orchid. I didn't really know they could be grown by regular folk until I was out of High School, but was under the impression they were extremely hard to take care of. I still had no clue about the vast numbers of orchids out there. It wasn't until a co-worker mentioned that she grew them that I ever considered it. About two years ago I happend upon a phalaenopsis at the grocery store. The rest is history and I now have just shy of 60 orchids.

I joined the AOS mainly to support orchid conservation and hopefully to learn more through the magazine. However, like Blondie, it's way over my head! I love the pictures though, and do read some of the articles even though it is a bit overwhealming. Pretty much everything I know I've learned from books and now this site.

Aside from Lowe's and Home Depot (and occasionally the grocery store) there is only one other place to buy orchids in my immediate area. They are a local nursery, but do not grow them. They order them in and no one there really know's much about them. Quite often the orchids, although beautiful, do not have ID tags. There is a nursery about 40 miles from me that has connections with a grower, but both times I've been there, they only had a couple orchids. Mostly I rely on the internet to buy orchids.

I had hoped to find others in my area interested in orchids to find out where they buy their orchids, network and learn. There is (as far as I can tell) no society which meets regurlarly that wouldn't be a bit of a drive for me. I found a society webpage the supposedly meets twice a month about 25 minutes from me, but the site hasn't been updated in a year! The closest shows to me happen only 2 times a year and are a good 1.5-2 hour drive. For this reason, I've never been to a show. I haven't been able to track down the old co-worker as neither of us work there anymore and she has an incredibly common name!

So that's the long background on this young orchid grower. Now on to the suggestions!

Rhonda, I applaud the steps that you're taking! It's a big task, and it's good to know that you, and the AOS, care! One thing that would be helpful in my searching, would be an easy way to get in contact with societies in my area. Perhaps the AOS could host/partner with the websites of affiliated local and regional societies. This way each website could be kept up to date, formated in a user friendly manner, and be easier to find. The internet is the tool of the young!

Also, the orchid directory is great! It's just that not a single one is near me! Yet, I know there are other smaller growers and retailers out there that are not listed in the directory. Perhaps outreach and networking to find and extend the hand to these "little guys." Patience is not the forte of the young. I run into a lot of people my age and younger who will simply give up if they don't find what they're looking for somewhat effortlessly.

I think Blondie had a great idea when she hit on the ideas for show categories. Even though I haven't been to a show, my impression of the coverage and those I've seen adversed is that they are not only overwhealming, but seemingly only for the career growers. How about encouraging the local societies to host smaller local events for the real amateurs?

Well now! This post now sound long winded, but I'm sure I'll think of more later!

[bswanson]

Originally Posted by MuscleGirl'sHobby

...

Rhonda, I applaud the steps that you're taking! It's a big task, and it's good to know that you, and the AOS, care! One thing that would be helpful in my searching, would be an easy way to get in contact with societies in my area. Perhaps the AOS could host/partner with the websites of affiliated local and regional societies. This way each website could be kept up to date, formated in a user friendly manner, and be easier to find. The internet is the tool of the young!

...

MuscleGirl,

Thanks for your input.

Here is a link to the AOS list of local societies LINK. This should help you find a society by you.

Hosting societies sites is a little bit beyond were we are at this time.

[MuscleGirl'sHobby]

Originally Posted by bswanson

MuscleGirl,

Thanks for your input.

Here is a link to the AOS list of local societies LINK. This should help you find a society by you.

Hosting societies sites is a little bit beyond were we are at this time.

Thanks for linking that! I had checked it some time ago, but it's been updated. I am now armed with an email address and phone number for the society I knew exsisted, but couldn't get ahold of! And the email has been sent. We'll see if we can get me to a meeting this month

And... another idea that expands on Blondie's post... How about AOS getting in contact with some of the "big box" type stores that sell orchids and see if you can send them plant tags like the identification tags, only have the AOS information on them? This would be a good way to reach out to first time orchid buyers, provide them with a place to find information on growing the orchid they chose and therefore help to dispell that old rumor that orchids are hard to grow!

[Rhonda_in_FL]

Keep it coming--we're listening!

I've sent the link to this thread to each member of the Education committee. We'll be watching this discussion with great interest.

[greenbean]

Great letter Blondie ! Speaking as a college freshmen who started growing orchids at age 16, I agree that there needs to be more outreach to young people. Personally, I owe my plant passion (cough*obsession*cough) to my parents, who had me gardening as soon as I could walk.

One of the best ways to reach out is to encourage Society members to hire young people for summer jobs. Who wouldn't want an extra pair of young hands in the greenhouse?! I met a more experienced orchid grower at the Lowe's in my hometown. I was looking at the orchids and she asked if I grew any. She offered me a job helping her in her greenhouse when I come home for the summer! I am THRILLED !

I would also love to see the AOS at my college. I'm an environmental horticulture major at Washington State Universiy in Pullman, WA. I already have a few orchids from home in my dorm, but would love more!

One more point that I can remember (I just had so much to say that it won't all stay in my head! ). I would love to join an orchid society, but there aren't any within a reasonable distance of my home. The closest meetings are about 2 hours away, and as of yet, I just don't want to put in that amount of time. Somehow, orchid societies, especially the AOS, need to become more accessible.